Don’t Be Daunted: Toronto Homes Are Affordable, Appreciating & Available
“New federal government-mandated mortgage lending guidelines, higher borrowing costs and misconceptions about the Harmonized Sales Tax caused a pause in the home buying in the summer,” explains Toronto Real Estate Board President Bill Johnston. “As it became clear that HST was not applicable to the sale price of an existing home and buyers realized that home ownership remained affordable, market conditions improved.”
In fact, 2010 marks the third-best year for the sale of existing homes in Toronto. Thanks to balanced market conditions in the latter half of 2010, there was moderate appreciation of Toronto homes. “Expect the average selling price to grow at or below five percent in 2011,” says Jason Mercer, TREB Senior Market Analyst. “With this type of growth, mortgage carrying costs for the average priced home in the GTA will remain affordable for a household earning an average income.”
Detached single family residences accounted for nearly half of the Toronto homes for sale that found owners in December 2010. Close to a third of the homes in Toronto were condo apartments. Semi-detached and townhouses accounted for a small, yet still significant, portion of the sales. The number of Toronto homes for sale in December 2010 was only 1 percent lower than December 2009. The median price for Toronto homes held steady at $450,000 and most homes Toronto offered were only on the market 27 days or so, which indicates a healthy real estate situation.
“Perceptions are that the housing market has stabilized and people are feeling a little more certain about getting into the market,” comments the Canadian Real Estate Association’s Chief Economist, Gregory Klump. “The hand-off to 2011 for sales activity in the fourth quarter suggests that the continuation of low interest rates will further support the housing market,” he adds. Prospective buyers of homes Toronto offerings will find low interest rates that hover around 3.5 percent (preferred rate) after reaching a historic low of 2.5% in late 2009.
This year is an excellent time to check out the stock of homes in Toronto before the interest rates go up again, which is forecasted to occur sometime mid-year. Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at the Bank of Montreal, said that the market is “well balanced” and that “prices are still meandering ahead.” The end-of-year numbers for 2010 were much better than expected, which indicates that consumer confidence is increasing and that Toronto homes will be in higher demand over the coming months. Better to strike while the iron’s hot!
For more information about how you can buy and sale Toronto homes please visit: http://www.homesinthetorontoarea.ca/
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